Dr. Julian Lombardi is an American computer
scientist known for his work in user interface
design and in the design of computer systems
that support collaboration between large
numbers of users. He is one of six principal
architects of the Croquet project (along
with Alan Kay, David P. Reed, Andreas Raab,
David A. Smith, and Mark McCahill).

A former biology professor, Lombardi combined
his interests in information technology,
complex systems, and the phenomenon of emergence
in biological systems and began designing
and developing computer-supported collaboration
systems involving self-optimizing massively
multiuser online 3D environments in the
mid-1990s. Lombardi eventually founded VIOS,
Inc. in 1999 where he acted as the venture
capital-backed company's first CEO and then
Chief Creative Officer/Software architect.
From 2002-2005, he managed a software research
and development group at the University
of Wisconsin-Madison. Lombardi currently
serves as Duke University's Assistant Vice
President of Academic Services and Technology
Support. He is also a Senior Research Scholar
with Duke University's program in Information
Science + Information Studies and an adjunct
professor with Duke University's Department
of Computer Science.